Despite being developed in the late 1980s, Intrathecal pumps have been underutilized clinically for pain management for multiple reasons. With the opioid crisis and the significant increase in the proportion of the population with refractory pain, intrathecal pumps are gaining popularity. Intrathecal pumps may be an appropriate option for improved pain control while minimizing side effects from systemic opioids.
SPEAKERS
Nicole Eye, PharmD is a pain clinical pharmacy specialist in pain management/Interventional Pain Services at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Her professional interests include acute pain management, cancer pain management, intrathecal pump management, and student and resident education. Nikki has served as a clinical content expert for the BPS Role Delineation Study for Pain Management Practice petition as well as BPS study questions on BCOP recertification.
Tanya Uritsky, PharmD, CPE is the opioid stewardship coordinator at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is co-chair of the Penn Medicine Opioid Task Force, past-chair of the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists (SPPCP) Opioid Stewardship Taskforce, and is president-elect of SPPCP. She was awarded Palliative Care Practitioner of the Year by PainWeek in 2015 and the 2020 Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists Joe E. Smith Award for excellence.